Developing an Extended Model of the Relation between Work Motivation and Health as Affected by the Work Ability as Part of a Corporate Age Management Approach

Perceived knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding the medical consortium among medical staff in Sichuan, China: a cross-sectional survey

BACKGROUND

In China, fragmented and inefficient health care systems are common while quality resources are limited. To promote an organized, efficient system, the government launched a medical consortium policy to vertically integrate health care through the collaboration of different levels of medical care. Logically, medical staff's knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) regarding the consortium are critical for its development. The objective of this study was to explore the KAP regarding the medical consortium among medical staff in a medical consortium in Sichuan Province, China.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was conducted. In total, 690 medical staff members in 3 cities of Sichuan Province, China, were interviewed from November 2018 to December 2018. The questionnaire consisted of 18 items, including 4 items related to perceived knowledge, 4 items related to attitudes and 2 items related to practices, and was rated on a 5-point Likert scale (one = strongly disagree/do not know, five = strongly agree/know).

RESULTS

The effective response sample was 640 copies of the questionnaire, and most medical staff members (92.50%) knew about the cooperation with other hospitals in the medical consortium. Medical staff scored differently on each item in the questionnaire, with the highest score being the item 'agreeing with the ward rounds and clinical teaching and training organized by the leading hospital' (4.54 ± 0.76), and the lowest score being the item 'frequency in participating in ward rounds and clinical teaching organized by the leading hospital' (2.83 ± 1.36). In addition, the effect of demographic characteristics on KAP was evaluated by stepwise multiple regression analysis, and a significant positive correlation was found between all the studied variables by Spearman's correlation (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

This study showed that the attitudes toward and knowledge of the medical consortium significantly contribute to practices, satisfaction with the support work performed by the leading hospital and agreement of improvement after joining the medical consortium. Thus, to improve medical staff's KAP and satisfaction, publicity and educational programs in medical consortia are necessary, and the leading hospital should attach importance to the informatization construction and demand of different medical staff members.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

There are no clinical trials in this study.

Sustainable Human Resource Management and Generational Diversity: The Importance of the Age Management Pillars

The issue of population aging is currently highly topical. In the context of population aging, age management comes to the fore. It addresses the management of human resources with regard to the age and potential of employees. The main aim of the article is to present the results of research focused on the importance of age management pillars from the perspective of employees from different generational groups in industrial enterprises in Slovakia. Based on established research questions and the research hypothesis, we can state that the perceived importance of age management pillars differs depending on the affiliation to the generational group. The research hypothesis was confirmed, and we conclude that there is a dependence between generational groups of employees from industrial enterprises in Slovakia and the importance of the age management pillars (the number of designations in a pairwise comparison). As a data collection tool, a research questionnaire was created. Collected data were evaluated based on a pairwise comparison of the perceived importance of age management pillars for employees. The research sample consisted of N = 384 respondents (employees of large industrial enterprises in Slovakia). When considering the research results, the use allows approaching the management of different generations of employees directly within the framework of sustainable human resource management. The research problem is also supported by resources and theoretical background.

Draft Methodology of the Age Management Implementation in Human Resource Management in a Transport Company

At present, companies should definitely be able to adapt to their environment. It entails being able to successfully predict and eliminate flaws and undesirable steps which may result in negative consequences. It can only be executed by careful consideration of three basic enterprise’s components which comprise the following: material resources, financial resources and human resources. An effective corporate coordination and human resource management is a cornerstone of the enterprise’s success while these components are of the same importance to this success. To this end, the aim of this manuscript is to design innovative recruitment procedures when using age management approach for a specific transport company; in particular, its human resource management is taken into consideration. In the initial parts of the manuscript, an analysis of quantitative and qualitative data is performed, wherein introduction into the addressed subject, relevant literature review, as well as description of utilized data and methods within the conducted research are elaborated. Consequently, in a case study section, the Work Ability Index (WAI) method is used to focus on the chosen group of employees in order to profoundly investigate their work abilities. The very examination of employees’ life cycle encompasses multiple age categories and measures a decrease in their work ability level. As for the ensuing (final) parts of the manuscript, a thorough evaluation of results obtained, appropriate discussion and, last but not least, conclusion section are compiled, in which the most imperative findings of the performed investigation are comprehensively summarized. Following the above, the purpose of this study is to compile a novel methodological procedure in terms of using the principles of age management in human resource management; specifically, in an opted transport company, and thus helping towards more effective and sustainable corporate recruitment strategy.

Addressing future work ability of employees in GP consultations: results of a cross-sectional study

Objectives

In this study we examined to what extent members of a best-practice integrated healthcare model in Germany discussed their subjective future work ability with their general practitioner (GP); furthermore, we examined independent variables which explain whether future work ability is discussed.

Methods

In a cross-sectional survey, 1168 (out of 3218 invited) integrated healthcare members responded to a standardized questionnaire. This study includes n = 475 employed respondents who were at most 65 years old. We determined the (relative) frequency of employed members up to 65 years who had already discussed their subjective future work ability with their GP. By means of logistic regression analysis, explanatory variables were identified which statistically explained the discussion of future work ability with their GP.

Results

N = 80 (16.8%) respondents stated they had discussed their future work ability with their GP. A multiple logistic regression analysis showed the following results: The odds ratio for discussing future work ability is increased the more satisfied respondents are with their general practitioner, the worse they assess their current work ability in relation to the physical demands of the job, and when respondents suffer from one or more chronic diseases (Nagelkerke’s pseudo-R² = 0.13).

Conclusions

Even in this healthcare setting, employees up to the age of 65 rarely discussed their subjective future work ability with their GP. This suggests that the issue ‘future work ability’ is even less commonly discussed in other community-based care settings in Germany. It seems that health care providers involved in acute care only sporadically take this issue into consideration - despite the great importance of maintaining work ability.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12995-021-00299-y.

Age-Dependent Influence of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations on Construction Worker Performance

The increasing sophistication and complexity of construction technology have also increased workers' physical risk and psychological stress. This study examined the relationships between health risks, work motivation, and productivity as perceived by construction workers. A hypothetical model of worker perceptions, and the psychological factors influencing these perceptions, was developed. A total of 324 construction workers at a Japanese construction company participated in the study and were divided into two groups: younger (45 years of age and below) and older adults (46 years of age and above). Data were collected using a questionnaire. The differences between the age groups were analyzed with regard to their perceptions of health risks, motivation, work skills, and productivity. Both younger and older workers were affected by intrinsic motivations and extrinsic motivations, but the effect of these motivations on work performance differed depending on age. Higher health risks are anticipated to affect the work motivation and productivity perceptions of older workers. The proposed model and findings of this study contribute to understanding worker motivations and have important implications for labor management of construction projects. By addressing construction workers' intrinsic (e.g., interest) and extrinsic (e.g., reward) motivations, it is possible to sustainably improve project productivity.

Working conditions of healthcare workers and clients' satisfaction with care: study protocol and baseline results of a cluster-randomised workplace intervention

BACKGROUND

In the present investigation the study protocol and the results at baseline of a workplace intervention are reported. It is hypothesised that the reduction of the physical and psychosocial workload of healthcare workers increases 1 their self-assessed physical and mental work ability, and 2. clients' satisfaction with care.

METHODS

Two-arm, cluster-randomised trial. Outcome data on workers and clients are collected in questionnaires at baseline, and two follow-ups between 2019 and 2021. Participants of the interventions are healthcare workers of 11 healthcare providers in Germany. At baseline, the intervention arm comprised 22 clusters (n = 174 workers); the control arm, 47 clusters (n = 276). The intervention consists of interviews and workshops, in which employees propose measures aiming to reduce the physical and psychosocial load, and strengthen resources at work. The primary outcome is the workers' physical and mental work ability. The secondary outcome is the clients' satisfaction with care.

RESULTS

There was no evidence of substantial differences between trial arms at baseline concerning the outcomes. The design effect estimates for physical and mental work ability were 1.29 and 1.05, respectively. At the end of the trial, effect sizes of at least 0.30 and 0.27 at the 80% power and 5% significance levels can be attained.

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggest that the implementation of the study design has been satisfactory. The intervention is expected to provide evidence of relatively small to medium-size effects of the intervention activities on the work ability of healthcare workers and the clients' satisfaction with care.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Registration trial DRKS00021138 on the German Registry of Clinical Studies (DRKS), retrospectively registered on 25 March, 2020.

Perceived Organizational Performance in Recruiting and Retaining Employees with Respect to Different Generational Groups of Employees and Sustainable Human Resource Management

Organizational performance is considered as the essence of an industrial enterprises’ existence. However, in terms of performance, it is important not only to achieve results, but also maintain and develop the potential of an enterprise. When assessing performance, industrial management often omits the organizational success in managing human resources and developing human resources potential. The main aim of this paper is to present the research results focused on perceived organizational performance in recruiting and retaining employees with respect to different generations of employees in industrial enterprises. For the purposes of the analysis, the authors of the paper have designed a valid and reliable collection tool (research questionnaire). The research sample consisted of N = 1471 respondents, employees of industrial enterprises in the Slovak Republic. The research result shows that different generations of employees perceive differently selected issues of organizational performance. Testing the first research hypothesis has proved that there is a significant difference between employees from different generational groups in the perception of relationships among employees. The testing of the second research hypothesis confirmed that there is a statistically significant relationship between selected issues of perceived organizational performance.

Intention to Retire in Employees over 50 Years. What is the Role of Work Ability and Work Life Satisfaction?

Background: We investigated work ability and trajectories of work life satisfaction (WLS) as predictors of intention to retire (ITR) before the statutory age. Methods: Participants were Finnish postal service employees, who responded to surveys in 2016 and 2018 (n = 1466). Survey measures included ITR, work ability and WLS. Mixture modelling was used to identify trajectories of WLS. A generalized linear model was used to determine the measures of association (Risk Ratios, RR; 95% Confidence Intervals, CI) between exposures (work ability and WLS) and ITR. Results: Approximately 40% of respondents indicated ITR. Four distinct trajectories of WLS were identified: high (33%), moderate (35%), decreasing (23%) and low (9%). Participants with poor work ability (RR 1.79, 95% CI 1.40–2.29) and decreasing WLS (1.29, 1.13–1.46) were more likely to indicate an ITR early compared to the participants with excellent/good work ability and high WLS. Job control mediated the relationship between ITR and work ability (9.3%) and WLS (14.7%). Job support also played a similar role (14% and 20.6%). Conclusions: Work ability and WLS are important contributors to the retirement intentions of employees. Ensuring workers have appropriate support and control over their work are mechanisms through which organisations may encourage employees to remain at work for longer.